Case packing machine



Feb.22,193s. wnmmALL'T/AL 2,109,294

CASE PACKING MACHINE original Filed Feb. '7, 19:54 5 shams-sheet 1 Feb. 22, 1938. l w p@ KlMBLLE-r AL 2,109,294

QASE PACKING MACHINE v Original Filed Feb. 7 1934 5 Sheets-Shea@I 2 I BY Mzlam T'MATTORNEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

fyi/R ATTORNEYS W; D. KIMBALL. ET AL CASE EAGMNG MACHINE Original Filed Feb Fehwzz, 193s.

Feb. 2 2, 1938. w D. KIM'BALL ET A1.' 2,109,294

CASE PACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Feb. '7, 1934 MMM..

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n INvEnllTc'aL FWF/f? ATToRNEYs Y Feb. 22, 193s.

w. D. KIMBALL ET'AL. CASE Haskins MACHINE Original Filed Feb. 7, 19254 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 maana-f Passed Feb. zz, 193s unirsoisra'rss 2.1,294 cass Panama moms Wallace D. Kimball, Jackson Heights, and Cornelius I. Braren. Jamaica, N. Y., .assignors to Standard-Knapp Corporation. Long Island City. N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 1, 1934, Serial No. '110,084l

med ,um 5| 1931 r1s claims. (ci. zza-14) ished in a manner such that too much handling,A

particularly rubbing one package o n the other, tends to deface the outer surface of the wrappers l and render the packages less salable. For this reason there are still many articles of merchandise which are packed in their shipping containers by hand, notwithstanding the now well recognized fact that packing machines can be Vl5 operated at vi'ar less expense than involved in the employment of hand labor.

The particular object of the present invention is to provide a machine for packing articles in shipping containers which is particularly designed to avoid as far as possible the rubbing or other handling of the articles in a way to deface the most delicate -outer wrapping or label which is now in use. I

In packing machines as herein placed on the market it has been customary to pack the articles in the carton layer by layer. In such operation the succeeding layers are pushed into the carton over the underlying layers, which is, for the reasons stated above, particularly disadvantageous .in the handling of articles infancy wrappers. In

some machines the charge of articles is first assembled on some form oi' support and the charge as a-whole inserted in the carton, but in the commercial machines of this type -there is also the rubbing of the articles one on the other 'in assembling the several layers.

In the machine of the present application the articles are superimposed by a novel arrangement of rfeed belts which maintains the several 40 rows of articles out of contact with each vother in bringing the rows of articles to different elevations to be ultimately arranged in multiple layers' in the carton. 'I'his arrangement not only has the advantage of avoiding damage to the article,-

but permits themachine to be operated continuously at a more rapid rate than the machines of the prior art wherein the heavily laden support lor the carton or for the assembled charge of articles had to be moved one step up or down be-l tween each of the successiveoperations of the packing plunger.

A further object of theinvention is to provide a simple and entirely automatic package feeding and arranging mechanism for controlling the feed of articlesy to the machine whereby the machine is designed to receive articles from a number of different chutes, conveyors or other lines leading from the labeling and wrapping machine whic. per. .,rmed the last operation in the actual manufacture of the articlesto be packaged and to deliver such articles, in completelyiilled rows of any desired number,`to the conveyors for assembling the articles for the packing plungers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which is adapted to package articles 10' of'all descriptions including fragile articles such as above described, which is entirely automatic in operation, is of very simple construction, and which because the intermittently operated parts are few in number and of light weight, can be 15 rapidly operated.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein we have illustrated a preferred form of our in- 20 vention which has been found to possess the advantages above enumerated.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of our improved machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation" looking from the right 25 of Fig. 1, partly in section in the line 2 2;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 3 3 of Figs. 1 and '1;

Fig. 4'is an enlarged vertical sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 1 showing particularly the arti- 30 cle-control feed mechanism-for insuring a full charge of articles;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the portion of the ma.- chine shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 61s an longitudinal sectional view at right 35 angles to Fig. 4 on line 6 6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section on line 1 1 of Fig. l;

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views showing certain features of the control mechanism which will be 40 later described;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of the electric control circuit governing the operation of the charging plungers; and

Figs. l1 and l2 are detail views showing the 45 operation of the guides for separating the articles into rows.

Before describing our improved machine in de-y tail we will describe with reference to Figs. l and 2 the general construction of the machine and its 50 mode of operation. In the machine selected for illustration the articles to be packaged enter in four lines along a feed belt-marked I in Fig. 1. The feed belt operates continuously but the articles' are not positioned on the feed belt in imi,

. 'This is due to the fact that in manufacturing establishments generally it is the practice to in-v spect the articles when delivered from the Wrapping and labeling machines and remove from the conveyors all articles which do notcome up to standard w'lhis examination,Y has the eifect of placing gaps infthe 'line of articlesbeing fed tor the packaging machine," which' gaps vary in extent and frequency. Also of course some one or other of the wrapping machines will be temporarily shut down for repairs or other reason, thus producing a long gap'or a complete discontinuance of articles in one rrow or another of the four rows onv the feed belt. v

In advance of the feed belts and in position to receive the articles fed thereby are a series of article-supports, one for each belt, marked 2 in the drawings. Thesearticle supports are in line with the several lines of articles on the feed belt so that the continued movement of the feed belt willv eventually deliver suiiicient articles to each support to form a continuous row of articles in contact with each other. When sufficient articles have been accumulated on any one of the several supports for the row to b'e filled as indicated, the continued movement ofthe feed belt causes the articles to exert sufficient pressure on the contr'ol trip v3, for that particular support. which trip, by mechanism to be later described causes that .particular article support to be shifted into position for the articles thereon to be advanced into the machine. In the -machine shown the article-supports 2 are raised by the mechanism controlledthrough the trip 3, into position to be engaged by a pusher mechanism 4 which shifts the row of articles transversely of the direction offeed of the belts I onto a feed belt 5 extending in a direction at rightfangles 'to the` yarticles of eachcompact row deliveredfrom the support 2 slightly from each other, so that theyl may be carried by the belt 5 in separate pathways between guide rods I 'overlying the belt but still in-a complete vtransverse row as indicated in Fig. l. The belt 5 is operated continuouslyand serves to feed the articles continuously to a series of separate pairs of ch-ain conveyors 8, one for each pathway defined. by the guide rods lI, which chains are mounted at different angles to the horizontal asindicated in Fig. 2, to thereby not only advance the articles toward the assembly table ,9 but also to bring the articles to different elevations. I'here are as many pathways l and pairs of chains Il` as there are separate layers of articles to be packed in the carton, the term layer being used in the specification as indicating the rows of articles lying in the same horlzontal plane when the carton is supported in the position in which it is packed.

The chains 8, like the belt 5, move continuously and' each time a row of articles is shifted from the supports 2 onto the belt 5, that row of articles will be ultimately deliveredfby the chains 8 into position in front of the packing plungers Ill. There is one packing plunger fo;- each layer of articles, the paclnng plungers being operated asI a unit to shift the articles delivered by the chains 8 transversely ofthe direction of movement of the' belts and 1n a. direction zo be ultimately guided'into the carton.

'I'he operation of the packing plungers is also controlled by the movement of the articles them selves, in this instance by the pressure of the arof the plunger are full, thus insuring the deposit of a complete tier of articles into the carton at each operation of the plunger. When the final tier of articles has been deposited in the carton Y the carton is ejected from themachine` and the machine stops until a fresh carton is supplied.

The mechanism for carrying out the operation as above described is shown in enlarged detail inA Figs. v3, 4, 5, 6, and '7, to which reference will now be'particularly made. Y

The feed belt I is continuously driven and the articles advanced thereby are maintained in alignment Vby overlying guides I I providing in the present instance four rows of articles moving continuously into the machine, which rows, however, may contain gaps of greater or less extent, Each article path is defined by the overlying guides II and leads into a separate arti-` Y cle-support 2 the construction of which is shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. Each support comprises a platform I2 whose upper surface lies in the same plane as the feed belt. The platform I2 is of a width approximating the space between the guides II and lies in direct linewith the pathway dened by the guides so that the articles advanced by' the belt-will be fed directly onto the platform I2 over an intermediate fixed bridgev I3.

'I'he platform I2 is mounted on the. top of a tubular column I4 which is mounted for vertical adjustment on a fixed vertical shaft I 5., the colvumn and shaftI constituting the sole support of to the machine frame, the roller serving to guide the article-support in its up-and-down movement and maintain itin proper position to receive the articles from the feed belt.

A movable stop member 2| of trip 3 is mounted on the article-support adjacent the block I8 and in position to be engaged by the articles advanced by the belt I when sufficient articles have been delivered thereto to make a complete row. This stop member 2| is suspended from a suitable pivot 22 supported on the upper face of the cover plate I'I. The member 2| extends through slots in the plate I'I and platform I2 and is spaced suiciently from the block I8 to permit a slight rocking movement on its pivot under the pressure of the Aarticles delivered to the platform by the belt I.

Suspendedfrom the under side of the platform operating' bar v2'I will engage and operate any or all of the trip arms 23 projected into its path of movement by the pressure of the' articles against the members 2|. The actuating bar 21 is supported for vertical oscillation upon rock arms 23 mounted on xed pivots carried by the frame members oi the machine and is periodically elevated by means oi a cam 29 continuously rotated from the driving motor 30 of the machine, the cam operating through a cam arm 3| and link 32 connected to one of the rock arms 23 supporting the actuating bar.

The position of the trip arm 23 is so adjusted by means of the arm 2l and the adjustable stop carried by the trip arm as to just be clear ofthe operating bar 21 when elevated by the cam when the arm 23 is held in its position of rest against the stop 2G. Until` the member 2| isshifted by the pressure of the articles advanced by the feed belt the article-support 2 will remain stationary and the actuating arm 21 will oscillate idly up and down. When the trip member 2l is shifted as described,`the arm 23 will be brought into position over the actuating bar 21 and on the upward movement of the actuating bar the support 2 will be elevated a suillcient distance to bring the articles supported on the platform I2 above the plane of the articles on the feedA belts as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 6 and into position to be engaged by the reciprocating arm 33 of pusher mechanism 4 (see Fig. 6) which reciprocates across the four article-supports 2 and thereby serves to deliver the row of articles which has been elevated, from its support onto the feed belt 5. It may be that two or more supports will be elevated at the same movement of the actuating bar 21. In such case the reciprocating arm 33 will shift all the rows so elevated onto the feed belt. v

The several article-supports are separated from each other by means of fixed guide bars 3l which constitute in eii'ect extensions of the guides II. These guides 3l are fixed to the bridge I3 and extend between the several cover plates I1 as shown more particularly in Fig. 6, the top edges of the guide bars being flush with the upper surface of the coverplates to thereby form a continuous surface over which the articles are shifted by the arm 33. When the supports 2 are elevated by the actuating bar 21 as described, the platforms I2 on which the articles rest are brought into line with the cover plates I1 of the .supports which are not elevated, whereby there will lalways be a substantially continuous surface over which the articles are advanced by the bar 21 by means of a crank shaft 36' driven from the shaft of the cam 29 through suitable bevel gears, as shown, -whereby the slide makes one complete reciprocation for each revolution of the cam shaft. The cam 29 is so shaped and so timed with respect to the crank 31 which operates the arm 33 that the supports 2 will be elevated during the time that the arm 33 is in its position at the end of its stroke away from the delivery belt 5, and will be held in elevated position throughout the movement of the arm across the four supports and just clear of the cover plate I1 nearest the belt 5. The supports are then lowered while the arm is completing its movement oi' delivering- The arm 33' the articles to the belt I; In other words the armjl has a movement suillciently in excess of` the combined width of the four supports for the supports to be raised and lowered while the arm 5 v is completing or reversing its movement. The arm will return to its initial position shown in Fig. 6 while the cam roller is on the low part of the cam.

'I'hus the reciprocating arm 33 will deliver to 10 the belt 5 on each reciprocation whatever rows of articles have been elevated by the actuating bar 21 and in the event none of the bars have been elevated, no articles will be delivered to the belt 5. The belt 5, whenever it receives articles at all, thus receives articles in one or more complete rows and these rows are carried forward by the belt i in ysubstantially transverse alignment but separated from eachother by the overlying guide bars 1, as shown more particularly in Fig. l. A

In order to space the articles from each other as they are advanced onto the belt 5 so that Ythe guide bars 1 may pass between them, we provide a separator mounted over the pulley I I which supports the end of the belt 5 adjacent the supports 2. This separator comprises a series of guide plates I2 attached to the ends of the guide rods 1 and projecting toward the supports 2 and overlying the stationary bridge 43 lying between the adjacent support and the belt forming a continuous surface for the articles thereover. The guides 42 are bifurcated at their i'ree ends at a point corresponding with the thickness of the article and the tongues formed by this bifurcation are bent in opposite directions,

As will be seen from Fig. 1, the guides are a `ranged so that between one pair of guide rods the two lower tongues will be ilaredV outwardly'to guide the article advancedby the reciprocating arm 33 into the space between the guide rods while the next two guide plates I2 will have their upper tongues bent outwardly Yto engage andV guide the article into the space between the guide rods. As stated above, the upper tongues of the guide plates 42 are at an elevation from the belt greater than the thickness of the article and consequently the articles to be acted on by Vthe upper tongues must be elevated above the plane of the belt as they are advanced by the arm 33. To this end between each alternate pair of guide rods, namely, those which have the Vupper tongues of the guide plates 42 iared outwardly, there is placed a bridge piece Il. These bridgepieces extend beyond the ends of the guide, plates 42 and the inclination of the bridge is such that every other article in the row advanced by the arm 33 will be elevated suiliciently to clear the lower tongues of the guide plates and be engaged by the upper tongues and thus directed into the space between the adjacent guide rods. The intermediate articles, that is. those lying between the articles which ride up on the bridge pieces, will move along the surface -of the bridge 43 and thus pass under theupper tongues of the guide plates and be engaged by the outwardly flaringlower tongues and thus guided into the channels between the guide rods.

In order that the articles may be further separated laterally from each other as they are advanced toward the stacking belts 8 the guide rods 1 diverge slightly toward the delivery end of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to 'allow Y ample room for the individual belts 8 to run clear of each other.

The .deli'verysehains l are all driven by a common sprocket shaft 45 at the end adjacent the belt s, but at their ends adjacent the assembly table 9 each pair of chains is at a .different ele-V vation from the adjacent pair by a diierence at least equal to the height or thickness of the articles being packed, so that, of the` single row of articles delivered in transverse alignment by the belt 5,'the outermost article will be delivered to the assembly 'table 9' at the bottom level, the next article inthe transverse row will be delivered atan elevation slightly greater than the thickness of one article above the first mentioned article, and so on, across the row as shown more fully in Fig. 7.

The chains are supported in proper position by channel members 46, one for each' pair of chains, having sprockets at their outer ends, that is, the ends adjacent the table 9. The chains are supported between the side walls of the channels, whereby the channel web serves. as a brace for the chains and the anges of the channel serve as side guides for the articles. TheseL several channels arel iixedly supported at their outer ends with their faces in alignment, respectively, with a series of shelves 41 supported in spaced relation one above the other in the article-receiving frame 48. This `article receiving frame 4l is in efect a sheet metal box one end of Ywhich is provided with inwardly tapering extensions 49 forming a funnel over which the carton C is telescoped by the operator as shown in Fig. '7, while the oppositeend is open to receive lthe packing plungers I by which the charge of ce `the corresponding dimension of the article, four seperate rows of six articles each must be delivered to the assembly frame by the chains 3 between each operation of the plunger-s it.

The operation of the plungers is controlled by the articles themselves and no 'matter how iai' apart the separate rows of six advanced by the feed chains may be, the plungers will not operc ate until four complete tiers have been delivered to the assembly frame. To this end there is provided the eiectrical control mechanism "shown diegrammaticaiiy in Fig. l0. This mechanism l comprises a switch Sil whose movable part, consists of e. push button i which projects through.

the outer side wall o the article traine 68 es shown in Fig. 3 in position to be engaged by the article when advanced by the uppermost pair ofY chains d, and is pushed inwardly to'make con-- tact when a complete line of articles (in this case too) has been delivered to the topmost shelf 41 in the'frame. This operation of the switch 58 closes the circuit through asolenoid Sie' to the I core of which is attached, as shown in Fig. 7, an

loperating rod 52 which serves to release a onerevolution clutch 53 to thereby operate the packing plungers through one complete reciprocation. Y Y

The clutch 53 comprises a continuously driven toothed member loose en the shaft 54 of the clutch, Ato which shaft isv attached the pawlcarrying driven member 55 and also the crank 56 of the oscillating arm Il which operates the cross head 5I of the packingplungers.V The pawl 59 oi the one-way clutch is provided'with an outwardly projecting arm positioned to be engaged by'a stop roller' 60 on a rock arm 6I which is rocked into a position to release the pawl when `the solenoid is energized and into position to engage the projecting arm of the pawl when the circuit is broken,.the 'weight oi the core serving when no longer held up by the current through the solenoid to force the rod 52 downwardly and thereby through the toggle levers 62, to rock the arm Bl into position for the rollerv to engage the pawl and release the clutch.

The control mechanism also embodies a second both switches mustbe closed in order for the solenoid to be energized to release the clutch. The switch 63 is operated as shown in detail in Fig. 9 and comprises a cam 64 attached to the rock shaft 64' supported in suitable bearings on a. bracket 85 projecting from the table top beneath the carton-supporting funnel 49. f Fast to the shaft 64' is an arm $6 which serves to hold the,

carton telescoped on the funnel 49. A spring il (see Figql) normally holds the arm in the upright position shown in Fig. 7, the purpose of the spring and arm being to partially support the weight of the lled carton/*while it is being lowered. to the roller table il upon which the filled cartons are dischargedr The cern 64 of the switch El is so shaped as to maintain the switch contact when the arm is in vertical position and to break the contact when the arm is lowered to discharge the carton.

The arm Si is heid in both horizontal and vertical positions by means of two pawls SB', 'li which engage a ratchet 69, also fast on the shaft ttf, as shown' in Fig. 8. The pawl. 68 is provided with a crank arm lll by means oi which the op erejtor may readily release the pawi to allow the arm to return to vertical position when an empty carton has lbeen placed on the funnel. The secn ond pawl, li, is provided for holding the arm yieldingly Aagainst reverse movement. This pawl works against a rounded tooth 12 which permits the shaft to turn whensumcient force is applied; hence the carton `will be held rmly in position to receive the articles, but may be readily lowered when a complete charge of articies has been deposited in the carton.

it will be observed in Fig. 7 that because of the horizontal spacing between the articles on conveyors there is a progressively decreasing space betweenthe ends oi the plungers i@ and the articles on the shelves of the assembly frame E8. @n the operation of the piungers through the onemway clutch as above described, movement of the bottom. row oi' articles in their advance toward the carton vwill commence before the movement of the row immediately above, and so on. Or, otherwise stated, the' bottom row of articles is given the greatest movement on each operation of the plunger and each successive row above a somewhat lesser movement, the purpose of this arrangement being to take up the spaces between .Y

the articles to thereby bring the articles in ver- InVF'ig. 'I the articles marked Ai'indicate the positions of the articles makingV up one row, at

the end oi' the movement effected by the belts 8 While the articles marked A3 are in the positions to which the articles constituting theV row marked A2 are-moved by the rst operation of the switch 63 -in series with the switch vSII whereby tical alignment in their passage into the carton.

plunger. Upon the next operation of the plunger funnel will preferably be filled with articles ar- Vbe suflicently understood from the foregoing` description. It will be observed that no matter ranged in the manner. illustrated in Fig. 7, and thereafter on each operation of the plunger one complete vertical tier of articles will be discharged into the carton. In the machine shown the carton is of a depth to accommodate four tiers of articles and hence at each fourth operation of the plunger the carton will be filled and removed fromthe machine and replaced by an empty carton. If the operator neglects to remove the filled cartonY the operation of the plunger will serve to eject the carton from the funnel, which will, be lowered -by the arm 66 onto the roller table, thereby, through the switch 63, breaking the circuit through the solenoid and preventing further operation of the plunger until the operator has placed `a fresh carton on the funnel and restored the arm to its vertical position.

It is believed the operation of the machine will to what extent there may be gaps in the incomlng-lines of articles, even to theextent of one or more lines being completely stopped, thema.-

chine will automatically operate to advance complete rows of articles to the assembly frame and that the plungers will operate only when a complete tier of articles, of both vertical and horizontalrows has been assembled.

. It will be further observed that throughout the operation `of the machine there is no relative movement of the articles with respect lto each other while in contact except the slight vertical movement effected by the, inclined bridges 43, which movement is just sumcient to allow the guide rods 42 to enter between the articles' and separate them into separate rows.

'I'he particular advantage of the machine is that the movement of the articles from one horizontal planeto another. which is necessary to provide a charge of multiple layers, is `accomplished by continuously moving belts, thereby avoiding the necessity of intermittently shifting the assembled articles or the carton containing the articles to permit the successive layers to be superimposed one on the other. The intermittently actuated parts are hence all of comparatively light weight so that they may be rapidly operated without producing undue vibration of the machine.

In the attached drawings and foregoing descrlption we have disclosed one embodiment of our invention which has been found in actual practice to be satisfactory and efficient. It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the construct-ion specifically disclosed except insofar as defined in the appended claims. We claim:

1. In a machine for packaging articles, a support on which the articles are assembled, a plurality of conveyors for feeding the articles to said support, said conveyors being arranged to deliver the articles to the support at points displaced from each other both vertically and horizontally, the number of said conveyors corresponding to the number of horizontal layers of articles in the completed package, and means for transferring articles from said support into a carton. 2'. In a machine for packaging articles, a support on which the articles are assembled, means for feeding the articles to said support in succes- '5 sive rows oblique to the vertical, and means for advancing the articles on 'said support in echelon arrangement, the successive rows forming a stack of articles, and for discharging a vertical row of articles from the end7 of said stack into a carton.

3. In a machine for packaging articles, a support on which the articles are assembled, means for feeding the articles to said support in a plurality of horizontal rows arranged obliquely with,- respect to each other, means for advancing said horizontal vrows of articles in echelon arrangement to form a-vertical tier and discharge said tier into a carton.

4. In a machine for packaging articles, a sup- Dort on which the articles are assembled, means for feeding articles to said support in successive oblique lines, and means for advancing the articles .on said support step by step in` echelon arrangement to form apluralty of horizontal lines obliquerows, and a plurality of plungers mounted upon a common support and arranged in stepped formation for engaging the articles on said s upport and advancing them step by step in echelon arrangement to form a vertical tier and discharge said tier into a carton.

' 6. In a machine for packaging articles, means forI conveying the articles in one or more lines in which the' articles are arranged in indeterminate spacing, mechanism for receiving the articles from said conveying means and rearranging them in4 horizontal rows in different vertical planes, in which rows the articles are uniformly spaced and each 'contains articles in number corresponding to the number `of superposed layers in the completed package, a support on which' the articles are assembled, means for conveying said rows ofarticles to said support including means for delivering 'the articles of a row thereto simultaneously at a plurality of levels corresponding to the number of layers in the completed `package,gand means for transferring the articles from said support into a carton.

7. In a machine fcr,packaging articles, means for conveying the articles in one or more lines in which the articles are arranged in indeterminate spacing, mechanism for receiving the articles from said conveying means and rearranging them in horizontal rows in different vertical planes, in which rows the articles are uniformly spaced and each contains articles in number corresponding 'to the number of superposed layers in the completed package, a support on whichthe articles are assembled, means for conveying, said rows of articles to said support including means for delivering the articles of a row thereto simultaneously ata plurality of levels corresponding to the number of' layers in the completed package, means for transferring the articles from said support into a carton, and means controlled by the articles inY one of said levels for initiating the operation of said transferring means.

8. In a machine of the class described a support for receiving articles to be packed into a carton, means for assembling articles on said support in position to be placed in the carton, power operated means for discharging said articles `into the carton. and means for holding .a carton in illling position adiacent said support including a rock-arm adapted to engage the carton to hold it horizontally at the lling position and aid in lowering and turning the carton from horizontal lling -position to upright position, and means actuated by said rock-arm to withdraw the application oi power to saiddischarging means .when the carton is moved awayfrom illling position and to restore the application of power thereto when the rock-arm is returned to the filling position.

9. In a machine for packaging articles, a support on lwhich, the articles are assembled, a conveyor for advancing the articles to be packed in successive horizontal rows each containing articles in number correspondingto the number of layers in the completed package. a plurality of conveyors for delivering. the articles from said 'ilrst named conveyor to said support, some of said conveyors being directed downwardly toward said support and other of said conveyors being y directed upwardly toward said support, the articles being delivered to said support at a plurality of levels corresponding to the number of -horizontal layers in the completed package, and means for discharging articles from said support into a carton. v

10.In` Aa machine for packaging articles, a support for receiving the articles to be packed, means for assembling the articles in tiers on said support, means for discharging articles on said sup-A port intoa carton, means controlled bythe articles on said support for initiating the operation of said discharging means, a. movable support for holding the carton in'illling position, and means controlled by the movement of said support away from iilling position :for stopping the operation of seid articie-diseharging means.

il. in e machine of the class described, a sup port for receiving articles to be packed in a carton, means for assembling articles on said support in position to be placed in the carton, means for discharging said articles into the carton, anni means for holding a carton in filling position ad jacent said support including amok-arm adapt-- ed to engage the carton to hold it horizontally at the filling position and aid in lowering and turning the carton irom horizontal lling position to upright position., and means actuated by said erm to stop the operation of said article-discharging means when the'carton is moved away from lling position.

l2. In a machine of the class described, a support for receiving articles to be packed in a carton, means for assembling articles on said support in position to be placed in the carton, means for discharging said articles into the carton, and means for holding a carton in filling position adjacent said support including a rock-arm adapted to engage the carton to hold lt horizontally at the illing position and aid in lowering and turn# Y ing the carton from horizontal filling position to upright position, a spring connected to turn said arm to the carton lling position, a ratchet connected with said arm. a pawl engaging sai-ci ratchet to hold the arm in lowered position, and

a second pawl engaging'said'ratchet to hold the' arm in the filling position. l

13.` In a machine for packaging articles a supporton which the articles are assembled, a pluralityof .conveyors for feeding the articles to the support, the conveyors being arranged to deliver the articles to the support at points staggeredA with. respect to one another both vertically and horizontally, the number of conveyors corresponding 'to the number of horizontallayers/oi' articles in the completed package. and means for trimsferring articles from the support' into .a

carton.

14. In a machine for packaging articles, afsupport on which the articles are assembled, a plurality of conveyors for feeding the articles to the support, the conveyors being arranged to deliverx the articles to the support at points spaced from each other vertically and staggered with respect to each other horizontally, thenumber of the conveyors corresponding to the number of horizontal layers ot -articles in the completed package; and means for transferring articles from the support into a` carton.

15. In a machine for packaging articles means -for conveying the articles in one or more lines in which the articles are arranged in indeterminate spacing, means for receiving the articles from said conveying means and rearranging them in horizontal rows, in `which rows. the articles are uniformly spaced and" each contains articles in number corresponding tothe number of superposed layers in the completed package, a support on which the articles are assembled in horizontal lines in different vertical planes, means for conveying the rows of articles to the support in-` cluding means for delivering the articles of a row thereto simultaneously at a plurality of levels corresponding to the number of layers in the completed package, and means for transferring the articles from the support into a carton.

l. In a machine for packaging articles, means for conveying the articlesin one or more lines in which the articles are arranged in indeterminate spacing, means i'or reiving thear'ticles from the conveying means and rearranging them in' hori hentai rows, in which rows thev articles are uniiormly spaced and each contains articles in munber corresponding to the number ci superposed layers in the completed package, s. support on which the articles elre assembled in horizontal lines in dijerent vertical planes, means for conveying the rows of articles to the support inw' i cludlng means for delivering the articles of s rovi,

thereto sinniltaneously at a plurality of levels corresponding to the number of layers in the completed package, means for transferring the articles from the support into a carton, and means controlled by the articles in one of the levels for initiating the operation of the transier-ring means.

i7. In a. machine :lor packaging articles= means for conveying the articles in one or more lines in which the articles are arranged in indeterminate spacing, means for receiving. the articles from said conveying means and rearranging them in horizontal rows, in which rows the articles are uniformly spaced 'and each contains varticles in number corresponding to the number oi' superposed. layers in the completed package, a support on which the articles are assembled in horizontal lines-in different vertical planes, means for conveying thelrows of articles to the support includf ing means for delivering the articles of arrow thereto simultaneously at a plurality of levels corresponding tothe number of layers in the completed package, ,and means for advancing said horiaontal lines of articles in echelon arrangement to form a stack and for discharging a vertical tier of articles from the end of the stack into a carton.

18.' In a machine for packaging articles, means aimes forconveyingtheartlclesinoneormorelines' ineclmelonarrangementtofoxlneverticaltiex'A in which the articles are arranged in lndeteb minate spacing. means for receiving the articles from said conveying means and rearranging mounted upon a common support and arranged in stepped formation for engaging the articles on the support and advancing them step-by-step cEsTF tous anddllchargessidtierintoacarton.

laglnamachine forpsckagingarticlesasupportonwhichtheartlclesaassembled,aplu

caltler and 5 them in horizontal rows, in which rows the artirslity of conveyors for feeding the articles to 5 cles are uniformly spaced and each contains artithe support. the conveyors being arranged to cies in number'corresponding to the number of deliver the articles to the support at points'dissuperposed layers in the completed package. a placed from each other both vertically and horil support on which the Iarticles are assembled. in sontally. the number of conveyors corresponding lo horizontal lines in different vertical planes. to the number of horisontsllayers of articles in 10 means for conveying the rows of articles to the the completed package. and a plurality of plungsupport including means for delivering the artiers mounted upon a common' support and arcles of a row thereto simultaneously at a plurality ranged in stepped formation for m8881118 the of levels corresponding to the number of layers articles on the support and advancim them stepl5 in the completed package, a plurality of plungers by-step in echelon arrangement to form a verti- 15 0F CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,109,29Lr. l I February 22, 1953.

. f l WALLACE` D. KIMBALL, ET AL. p

It is hereby certified that errorv appears I .nb ther printed specificai-,ionv of above numbered patent-requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, lines 9 and 1l., claimv, for the word "rows" read lines; same page and column, lires 17 and 19, claim Lr, for "lines" read rows; and that the *sa-idr Letters Patent shouldbe read with the se corrections therein that the same may conform to the` record'of the case in the Patent- Office.

' signed ,and sealed this 12th day of 'Apr-112A. 13.1958.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale., Y `Act-ing Commissione-ref Patents.

aimes forconveyingtheartlclesinoneormorelines' ineclmelonarrangementtofoxlneverticaltiex'A in which the articles are arranged in lndeteb minate spacing. means for receiving the articles from said conveying means and rearranging mounted upon a common support and arranged in stepped formation for engaging the articles on the support and advancing them step-by-step cEsTF tous anddllchargessidtierintoacarton.

laglnamachine forpsckagingarticlesasupportonwhichtheartlclesaassembled,aplu

caltler and 5 them in horizontal rows, in which rows the artirslity of conveyors for feeding the articles to 5 cles are uniformly spaced and each contains artithe support. the conveyors being arranged to cies in number'corresponding to the number of deliver the articles to the support at points'dissuperposed layers in the completed package. a placed from each other both vertically and horil support on which the Iarticles are assembled. in sontally. the number of conveyors corresponding lo horizontal lines in different vertical planes. to the number of horisontsllayers of articles in 10 means for conveying the rows of articles to the the completed package. and a plurality of plungsupport including means for delivering the artiers mounted upon a common' support and arcles of a row thereto simultaneously at a plurality ranged in stepped formation for 1 f. the of levels corresponding to the number of layers articles on the support and advancim them stepl5 in the completed package, a plurality of plungers by-step in echelon arrangement to form a verti- 15 0F CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,109,29Lr. l I February 22, 1953.

. f l WALLACE` D. KIMBALL, ET AL. p

It is hereby certified that errorv appears I .nb ther printed specificai-,ionv of above numbered patent-requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, lines 9 and 1l., claimv, for the word "rows" read lines; same page and column, lires 17 and 19, claim Lr, for "lines" read rows; and that the *sa-idr Letters Patent shouldbe read with the se corrections therein that the same may conform to the` record'of the case in the Patent- Office.

' signed ,and sealed this 12th day of 'Apr-112A. 13.1958.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale., Y `Act-ing Commissione-ref Patents. 

